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Biography

Born

1960 (age 59)

Born In

Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States

Peter McConnell (born 1960), also known as Peter Mc, is an American composer and musician. He is best known for his video game scores, particularly for adventure game titles published by LucasArts, most famously Grim Fandango (1998), as well as his work in the Sly Cooper series (2004 - 2013), Psychonauts (2005), and Brütal Legend (2009). McConnell's work invokes a multitude of musical styles and instrumentation as varied as the game genres for which he has composed, with moods and atmospheres ranging from the whimsical to the epic. Notable influences include Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone, and Lalo Schifrin.

McConnell studied music with Ivan Tcherepnin as an undergraduate at Harvard University, graduating with high honors. He was hired by LucasArts in 1991, his first professional composer credit being Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, a collaboration with Michael Land and Clint Bajakian. Together, McConnell and Land developed LucasArts' innovative iMuse system for interactive music/gameplay integration. McConnell and Land, in conjunction with Clint Bajakian, would go on to co-compose several more celebrated adventure game scores utilizing this system.

Outside of his capacity as a composer, McConnell has performed live with many different musical groups throughout the US and Europe. These bands include Freakwater, Soil and Eclipse, and Spinray. He is a member and former governor of the San Francisco chapter of the Recording Academy, a member of ASCAP and a founding member of G.A.N.G.. McConnell's work in composing has garnered him numerous awards and accolades in the gaming industry.